(a) The provisions of this article shall not apply to
contracting services. However, purchases by a contractor of
tangible personal property or taxable services for use or
consumption in the providing of a contracting service shall be
taxable beginning the first day of March, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine, except as otherwise provided in this article.

(b) Transition rules. -- The exemption from payment of tax on
purchases of tangible personal property or taxable services
directly used or consumed in the activity of contracting, as
defined in section two of this article, which expires as of the
first day of March, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, shall
nevertheless remain in effect with respect to:

(1) Tangible personal property or taxable services purchased
by a contractor on or after said first day of March in fulfillment
of a written contract for contracting, as defined in section two of
this article, that was executed and legally binding on the parties
thereto on or before the fifteenth day of February, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-nine; or in fulfillment of a written contract
entered into after the said fifteenth day of February pursuant to
a written bid for contracting that was made on or before the said
fifteenth day of February that was binding on the contractor, but
only to the extent that the bid is subsequently incorporated into
a written contract; or

(2) Tangible personal property or taxable services purchased by a contractor on or after the said first day of March pursuant to
a written contract executed on or before the fifteenth day of
February, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, to purchase in
specified quantities identified tangible personal property or
specified taxable services; or

(3) Tangible personal property or taxable services purchased
by a contractor for consumption or use in fulfillment of a written
contract entered into before the first day of September, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, when such contract is for the
construction of a new improvement to real property the construction
or operation of which was approved by a federal or state regulatory
body prior to the first day of February, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine, or pursuant to a federal grant awarded prior to such
first day of February.

(c) Renewals and extensions. -- A renewal of any contract
shall constitute a new contract for purposes of this section, and
the date of entry into a contract renewal by the parties, the date
or dates of tender of consideration and the time of performance of
any contractual obligations under a renewed contract shall be
treated as the dates for determining application of this section to
the renewed contract. Extensions of time granted or agreed upon by
the parties to a contract for performance of the contract or for
tender of consideration under the contract shall not be treated as
contract renewals. Contracts to which such extensions apply shall
be treated under these transition rules as if the original contractual provisions for performance and tender of consideration
remain in effect.

(d) Definitions. -- For purposes of this section:

(1) The term "contract" or "contracts" means written
agreements reciting or setting forth a fixed price consideration or
a consideration based upon cost plus a stated percentage or a
stated monetary increment. This term shall not mean or include
ongoing sales contracts, contracts whereby any element of the
consideration or the property or services sold or to be rendered in
performance of the contract are undefined, or determined, as to
either nature or quantity, subsequent to the making of the
contract, or any open-ended contract.

(2) The term "contract renewal" or "renewal" means a covenant
or agreement entered into or assumed by parties which have a
current contractual relation or which have had a past contractual
relation, whereby the parties agree to incur obligations beyond
those which they were, or would have been, required, at the
minimum, to carry out under their current or past contractual
relation.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.